ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 180521
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| Date: | Sunday 22 October 1972 |
| Time: | 09:50 UTC |
| Type: |  Piper PA-30-160 Twin Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-AVFV |
| MSN: | 30-1404 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Garnedd Ugain, Crib-y-Ddysgl, Snowdonia. Gwynedd -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Southend, Essex (SEN/EGMC) |
| RAF Valley (HLY/EGOV) | |
| Investigating agency: | AIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Written off (destroyed) 22/10/1972 when flew into high ground at the 3,494 foot (1065 metre) Garnedd Ugain (Crib-y-Ddysgl) Peak in Snowdonia. Gwynedd, killing all five persons on board (pilot and four passengers). According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The aircraft was making a private flight from Southend-on-Sea to Valley. When approximately 25 nautical miles due east of Valley, the pilot turned on to a southerly track, and commenced a descent through cloud to below the minimum sector safe flight level. Nine minutes after this manoeuvre, the pilot was given a bearing from Valley, which indicated that the aircraft was in an area of high ground. He was instructed to climb to Flight Level 55 (5,500 feet) which was the minimum safe Flight Level for this sector.
Shortly afterwards, at around 09:50 GMT, the aircraft flew into high ground in the area of Garnedd Ugain, Crib-y-Ddysgl, Snowdonia. Gwynedd. All five occupants of the aircraft were killed. The weather in the area at the time of the accident was overcast with cloud covering the mountains, across which a strong northwesterly wind was blowing.
The AAIB report concluded that the accident was due to a navigational error, which led the pilot to descend through cloud below the safe level in mountainous terrain over which there were strong and sustained downdraughts"
As stated above all five persons on board (pilot and four passengers) were killed, presumably on impact with the terrain. However, only the pilot/registered owner, Mr. Robert George Powl, was named in the AAIB report. The aircraft's registration G-AVFV was cancelled by the CAA on 22/10/1972 as "destroyed"
Personal note by the ATC controller: "I fully agree with all the AAIB comments - I was the Duty Air Traffic Controller at RAF Vally at the time of this accident and would just add that The aircraft was handed over to me leaving Preston Airspace. I advised the pilot that he was outside my radar cover and to continue VFR and report abeam Puffin Island (His flightplan route)
My next contact was when the pilot called me around 0950hrs advising me that he was flying at 2,000ft IFR. I was surprised to see that his VDF trace showed him to be in the direction of Snowdonia. I ordered him to climb immediately which he acknowledged and when I called him again less than a minute later there was no reply and I carried out all the necessary actions for search and resue."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/54230075ed915d1371000aa5/9-1973_G-AVFV.pdf
2. CAA: https://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AVFV.pdf
3. http://www.na3t.org/air/photo/WB00080-04
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Oct-2015 16:00 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 19-Oct-2015 16:01 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-May-2019 09:11 | Dave | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-May-2019 09:12 | harro | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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